Insurance appraisals

[Jack Beebe]

My insurance co. is asking for a appraisal on my newly accquired 64 L76 coupe. Any suggestions? I'm in Eugene, OR. Thanks

[Guest]

Re: Insurance appraisals

If you are only driving weekends and keep the car locked in your garage at home, get collector car insurance. They will insure without an appraisal and at a lower rate than traditional insurance. If you want traditional insurance, then I guess you will have to get an appraisal.

[Rob A.]

Re: Insurance appraisals

If your insurance company wants an appraisal, it's to have a value on which to base your premiums on, however, if your vehicle became a total loss, they would not base their check to you on it, but rather on a collector car type blue book. They would be more than happy to charge a premium on a high appraisal value, but would not be willing to hand you over the amount of the appraisal in the event of a total loss. Get unsurance with a specialized company, like Haggerty, with, as I recently learned, "agreed value".

[Michael W.]

Every time I see the 'insurance'

thread appear I get the sinking feeling that there's a lot of people that do not have their vehicles properly insured.

From what I know, any fool can buy an insurance policy for a declared value of (say) 1 million dollars, as long as he's willing to pay the accompanying premium. No appraisal required. The rub is that this does not mean that the insurance company will pay out 1 million dollars in the case of a partial or total loss. You may end up getting a cheque for their idea of depreciated actual cash value of a 40 year old Chevrolet, which at the scrap yard is running about $40. a ton.

An agreed value policy means that both you and your insurance company 'agree' that your L89 is worth 100K, that's what it's insured for, that's what you pay premiums on and that's what you get paid in the case of a total loss.

To come to an agreed value, a professional must evaluate your car to set an impartial price. The insurance policy will be set based on this appraisal. Usually your insurance company will be able to supply a list of local firms able to do this.

[Len Rayca]

Re: Insurance appraisals

Jack: try calling American Collectors Insurance ( 800-360-2277 ). They insure classics and antique cars for agreed value and many times only require a recent photo. Premiums are very reasonable. They compare very favorably with Haggerty, Grundy and Taylor.

[John H.]

Re: Insurance appraisals

INSURANCE - very good subject. I used American Collectors about 20 years ago.
Had them for several years. Never had a claim, so I can't say how they would
handle a claim.
I CURRENTLY HAVE J.J.GRUNDY collector insurance on both my Mustang 15k and on
my 72 corvette (original owner, paint etc) for 20k.
NOW HEARS THE REST OF THE STORY.
My corvette was in a shop for heater core repair in Mar.2003 when
IT CAUGHT ON FIRE. Interior got burnt mostly in middle duct area.
For those interested I'll try and send a attachment/pictures maybe this
weekend. I don't know if attachments can be sent on discussion forum.
My e-mail ads is happyappy@peoplepc.com
The shop owner REFUSED to have his insurance even look at the damage.
He said it was a short in the radio. BALONEY.He owns about 7 vets, what a joke.
Grundy adjuster, very nice, handled the claim in very satisfactory way.
Damages were about $3800.
I have had the car since repaired and I am increaseing my coverage to 24k.
Grundy has been super.
Also another suggestion: Buy a HALAGON fire extinsgher, not the cheap red
bottle that everybody seems to have. The cheap chemical reacts with all
metal parts and mositure. It is a bear to clean/correct.
Also install a battery cutoff switch. I have the twist knob type, very cumberson.
Get the latch type switch. Much easier to use off and on.
More info if you want it later, Big John

[Mike Cobine]

Re: Insurance appraisals - Halon illegal

The advice on the fire extinguisher is well and good except that Halon has been illegal for about 9 years and as such, you can't find those anymore.

Your EPA at work.

[John M.]

Re: Insurance appraisals - Halon illegal

Mike,
There is a good replacement non-CFC Halon on the market, and there is a tremendous ammount of the old stuff still in the recycle market. Just like R-12 refrigerant, it is not illegal to sell just to produce.

Regards, John McGraw

[Jack W.]

Re: Insurance appraisals - Halon NOT illegal

agree that Halon is not illegal, also agree that, for those who really care about the shiny bits and pieces of their engine and all of the various finishes, the use of a dry-chem extinguisher on a hot engine might put out the fire but cause signif. collateral damage nonetheless - go with a Halon bottle - one place to get a little Halon bottle is h3r.com (I have their 1.25 lb Chromie bottle @ $100 - plain red @ $80, their 2.5 lbs Chromie for about $150, plain red @ $125). Certainly other sources exist, maybe cheaper, but Halon still widely available.

[John H.]

Re: Insurance appraisals - Halon NOT illegal

The "original" Halon has been replaced by "Halotron", among other compounds - go to www.amerex.com for a great selection of Halotron extinguishers that won't cause collateral damage when used.

[mike yager]

Re: Insurance appraisals

Jack:

Its probably a good idea to get an appraisel, no matter who insures your car. You might try your local NCRS chapter. There probably is someone who is a judge, etc who will do it or someone who actually does this as a business.

[Dave F.]

Re: Every time I see the 'insurance'

Mike,
I was one of them, having insured mine through an old friend, who is a State Farm agent. My stated value policy meant that if I had a total loss, I would be offered a vehicle "equivalent" to mine.....wouldn't even get a check if an "equivalent" vehicle was found!!! AGREED value is the only acceptable form of insurance. Can't really say how much I'll miss my "old friend", but I sure feel better knowing that if faced with a total loss, I won't have to be arguing about what "equivalent" means to me with some corporate adjuster.

[Jack Beebe]

Insurance appraisals

Thanks for the info, folks.I'm using State Farm right now, but it might be better to get my Avanti and the Vette under a collector agreed value.

[Donald M.]

Re: Insurance appraisals - Halon NOT illegal

John, I tried going to the link for Amerex that you gave in an earleir post, but my browser won't take me to it. Is there perhaps another site or spelling for that? Thanx.

[John Fowler]

Amerex Link

Try link below -




Amerex